Just Himself and Luna
by Karasuman
Summary: Harry pays a visit to the Mirror of Erised, some time after the Dark Lord has been defeated. One-shot HL.


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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter nor any of it's characters. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

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Just Himself and Luna

Written by: Karasuman

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It was hard to believe that it had been more than two years since Voldemort had been defeated. Harry remembered vividly, all seven years of his life at Hogwarts. Everything seemed like a blur, now. He remembered the years he had gone to Hogwarts. The one that had preoccupied him the most was his seventh year. The battle between the Order and the Death Eaters...

He didn't find it odd, then, how he had completely forgotten this particular artifact from his first year.

Harry vaguely recognized it. The pale moonlit reflection of the mirror shone at him. He recoiled when he saw Sirius Black, standing there.

"The Mirror of Erised. People's lives have wasted away before it," Harry said, struggling to remember Dumbledore's words. Better yet, he was struggling not to look at it. Some Occlumens he was- no matter how much he cleared his mind, Padfoot was always there. He told himself over and over again, how he had stopped mourning him, he was over him, he was over Padfoot, he was moving on. Yet here was the Mirror, proving him wrong. Harry had gotten nothing out of revenge. His heart still ached over Sirius' death. Harry just sat there, looking bleakly at the Mirror...

The night seemed to last for hours. Harry sat there, undisturbed. He remembered how his parents had been there, each one laying a hand on his shoulders. There was Sirius, doing the same thing.

His hand traveled up his arm. That hand felt so real. Too real. Sirius...?

"Harry, what is it you are looking at?" He heard someone's calm, serene voice say. His hand, which had gripped the one he thought was Sirius's lightly, drew back and he stood up quickly.

"L-Luna?" Harry choked. He stared at Luna's protuberant, dreamy eyes. How did she find him here?

"Such an odd mirror." Luna said, turning to the Mirror.

"Yeah... It is... What are you doing here, Luna?"

"I came to see how you were doing. The Ministry told me you were examining an inventory of artifacts, so I stopped here and found you."

"Oh."

"What do you see?"

"Luna... Do you know what this mirror is?"

Luna nodded, and this surprised Harry. "I've read about it before."

"Where, exactly?"

"_Hogwarts, a History_."

Harry chuckled. "When you say that, Luna, you sound like Hermione."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Luna replied, nodding. "Actually, it was in a new revision of the book that the Mirror was mentioned. It mentioned you and the Sorcerer's Stone."

Luna suddenly gazed intently at Harry. "But you still haven't told me what you see in this mirror."

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "I see... My godfather."

"Sirius Black?" Harry nodded. Luna decided to sit down. Harry stared. He wanted to tell her that he wished to be alone. But... Her dirty-blonde hair managed to look so striking in the moonlight. On a whim, he also sat next to her.

"Do you want to know what I see, Harry?"

Harry looked curiously at Luna. She gazed at him again, a small smile on her face.

"I only see you and me."

Harry blinked. "Just you and me? There's nothing that you absolutely want in life?"

"This mirror shows us our desires. But why do we need to see them if we already know what they are? If you become addicted to your own desires, they paralyze you. There was a time when I would have seen my mother in this mirror. But you know, Harry, if it was my only goal in life to see her, then I would be unhappy. Because it's impossible to bring people back from the dead. But this isn't what I realized, and it's not what stopped me from mourning over my mother. Harry, do you know what made me finally move on?"

Harry was gazing straight back at her. He felt a lump in his throat as he looked at her.

"It was because I realized that my mother would be unhappy. Imagine how sad she would be, watching me from wherever she was- and you know they're watching us, Harry. I did not want my mother to see me as an empty shell. I wanted to be strong, for her. You were strong for Sirius, Harry, when you defeated Voldemort- be strong, now. You'll both be happier in the end."

Luna's eyes had moved back to the mirror. Harry felt the lump in his throat disappear. He knew that she was absolutely right. Voldemort was gone, as was Sirius. This was no time to dwell on the past. Luna's words lifted his spirits... He too, looked at the mirror, and was shocked to find that the only thing he saw now, was himself and Luna. She was beaming, now. Harry's lips couldn't help but curl upwards. He had always wondered why people had ever called her Loony. She was actually quite intelligent, and beautiful.

When that last thought registered, Harry suddenly felt nervous. However, Luna stood up and held her hand out. Harry took it, standing up. Her face was resplendent with lunar light. Harry was mesmerized by it for many quiet minutes. Without thinking, she suddenly pressed his lips lightly to her own. Harry pulled back, realizing what he was doing several minutes later. He was flushed, and he lifted strands of Luna's blonde hair to take a better look at her. She too, was blushing- a soft beet red.

"That was... That was..."

"Awful? Horrible? I apologize, I..." Luna, in her dreaminess, looked... forlorn? That was unlike Luna. Harry pulled her close.

"That's not what I was going to say. I was going to say, that was... amazing." Harry looked relieved as Luna looked up at him, still blushing. He took one arm around her waist, and then asked softly, "Would you like to go out for a drink, Luna?"

Luna grinned and nodded. "Certainly, Harry."

Harry looked one last time at the mirror. Just himself and Luna. Harry smiled. They left the Mirror of Erised, a heavy weight having finally lifted from Harry's chest. The only thing he could think of now, was just himself and Luna.

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Author's Notes: Thank you very much for reading this, everyone. Please RnR.


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